SHOULDERS AND TRAPEZIUS
Shoulders: There are three specific areas of your shoulders: anterior
(front), lateral (side), and posterior (rear)--each gets specific attention
from various shoulder exercises. The front shoulders flex and medially (inwardly)
rotate the arm. The side shoulders abduct the arm (moves it away from the
body). The rear shoulders extend the arm and cause lateral (outward) rotation.
These functions of the shoulder muscles help in performing throwing and
swinging activities such as pitching, passing, climbing, and racquet sports.
Trapezius: Many shoulder exercises also work the trapezius muscle.
This muscle slopes down the side of your neck from the base of your skull
to the upper part of your back. The trapezius muscle raises your shoulders
and rotates your shoulder blades, and is helpful in lifting activities,
such as moving furniture.
| Muscles stretched: |
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Primary: Anterior (front) shoulders
Secondary: Chest |
| Instructions: |
- Stand upright with shoulders back, chest out, and feet hip-width apart.
- Clasp your hands behind your buttocks.
- Slowly lift your hands up and away from your body until they have reached
the furthest comfortable position.
- Keep your chest out and your chin in without hunching over.
- Once you feel a comfortable stretch in your chest and anterior shoulders,
hold this position for at least 15-30 seconds.
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 If you'd like to view and print out all of these exercise instructions in an easy-to-follow "manual" format, please click here for the PDF version. Each and every exercise includes the beginning and midpoint images of the video demonstration so that you'll have a visual to compliment the text instructions. You'll need the Adobe Acrobat application, but this is likely already installed on your computer. If not, please go to http://www.adobe.com to download the latest version, free of charge.
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